The field of art to which this invention is directed is derivatives of polymers of p-hydroxystyrene.
Homopolymers and copolymers of p-hydroxystyrene are well known compositions which are described in such patents as U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,371 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,730. These polymers have been used in a number of applications, such as the metal treatment described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,376,000 and 4,433,015, and as the epoxy resin curing agents described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,992. Such polymers have also been used in photoresist compositions as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,994.
Poly(p-hydroxystyrene) has been derivatized with a number of reagents to form useful compositions. An example of a derivatizing reaction is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,664 wherein epichlorohydrin is reacted with poly(hydroxystyrene) to form polyepoxide compositions. Polymers containing silicon-functional groups made by reacting poly(hydroxystyrene) with chloromethylsilanes are described in the European Polymer Journal 11(9), 653-5.